Here are the most important things to know about Friday before you hit the door.
1. American Express set to report
Credit card company American Express reports quarterly earnings before the bell on Friday. Analysts polled by FactSet are expecting earnings per share of $2.01, compared to the $2.32 earned in the same quarter last year. Revenue is estimated to come in at $11.37 billion, topping last year's fourth quarter revenue of $10.47 billion.
Nomura Instinet said credit card companies don't offer enough top-line growth to compensate for their high sensitivity to increases in clients failing to make loan payments.
"Despite our cautiousness, we do see relative value in AXP, which is more spend-centric and likely to outperform peers in the next credit cycle in our view," Nomura Instinet research analyst Bill Carcache said in a note to clients.
Shares of American Express are up more than 12% in the past three months, on the back of a strong U.S. consumer.
2. Manufacturing and services gauge
We'll get a read on the U.S. manufacturing and services sector with first reading of PMIs (Purchasing Managers Index) from IHS Markit. Economists polled by Dow Jones are expecting a manufacturing reading of 52.2 in January, slightly down from December's reading of 52.4.
While the PMI Markit data didn't show contraction last month, the closely watched manufacturing purchasing managers' index from the Institute for Supply Management came in at 47.2 in December, its lowest level in a decade. A number below 50 represents a contraction in the industry.
January's services PMI is forecast to come in at 52.8, the same as December's reading, according to Dow Jones.
3. First down week for stocks?
Stocks are poised to have their first week of declines in 2020.
The three major averages have suffered this week as investors digested earnings and grappled with fears surrounding the Chinese coronavirus. The Dow Jones Industrial Average is down nearly 0.7%, the S&P 500 is down about 0.2% and the Nasdaq is up slightly this week.
The World Health Organization calmed some of the coronavirus fear on Thursday when it said it was a "bit too early to consider this event is a public health emergency of international concern."
Major events (all times ET):
9:45 a.m. Manufacturing PMI
9:45 a.m. Services PMI
Major earnings:
American Express (before the bell)
Air Products (before the bell)
Synchrony Financial (before the bell)
NextEra Energy (before the bell)
Correction: This story has been updated to reflect the Dow Jones consensus estimate for the manufacturing sector PMI from IHS Markit.